


The Doctor's Miracle

by Captain_Kieren



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: A little, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Donna Noble needs a hug, Donna remembers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Reunions, The Doctor (Doctor Who) Needs a Hug, mentions of rose tyler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 09:04:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16930359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kieren/pseuds/Captain_Kieren
Summary: Eleven receives a call from Captain Jack. Donna remembers.





	The Doctor's Miracle

The phone hasn’t rung in years.

              It’s Amy who actually hears it going off. “Is that a mobile?” she asks, her and Rory glancing around the TARDIS. The Doctor is too busy throwing levers and pushing buttons to care very much about someone’s mobile going off. One wrong move and they land on a lava planet, or an acid planet, or a planet full of carnivorous plant-people!

              Okay, there are no carnivorous plant-people. That he knows of.

              “It’s coming from over here,” Rory says, following the distant ringing down the steps to the under-workings of the TARDIS. The Doctor’s got all kinds of strange things down here, all tucked away in boxes and crates, all lettered in the Gallifreyan alphabet.

              Amy follows Rory down the stairs and they find the source of the noise, slightly muffled, coming from inside a little, wooden box. They exchange a look before snapping open the lid and—surely enough—there’s a grey flip-phone inside. The screen is lit up but the caller ID doesn’t recognize the number.

              “Doctor?” Amy yells up, but he doesn’t hear her. She answers the phone. “Hello?”

              A deep, syrupy-sweet American accent responds. “Well, hello there. Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?”

              “Uh…Amy. Pond,” she says, a little unclear on whether she should be grinning or rolling her eyes. His tone just has that effect.

              “Who is it?” Rory asks. Amy holds up a finger, telling him to wait.

              “Well, Amy Pond, am I correct in assuming that you’re traveling with the Doctor?”

              “Depends,” Amy says, already climbing the stairs back to the console room. “How do you know the Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness?”

              He laughs on the other end of the line. “I traveled with him a long time ago. He and Rose Tyler pulled my ass out of an exploding spaceship. Saved my life. Is that good enough for a quick word with the man himself?”

              Rose Tyler? Amy doesn’t recognize the name, but this guy doesn’t seem very threatening. “All right,” she says, elbowing Raggedy Man in his ribs.

              “Ow!” he complains.

              “Phone for you,” she says, raising her eyebrows.

              He turns away from the console, eyes zeroing in on the phone for a second. Suddenly, there’s a weird look on his face. A distant kind of look, almost a smile. “That’s the mobile you heard?” he asks Amy, taking the phone.

              “Yeah. There’s some man called Captain Jack Harkness on there for you.”

              The Doctor’s barks a laugh. He looks honestly shocked and delighted at the same time. Rory takes his place beside Amy as the Doctor cranks on the parking brake and reclines against the console in one smooth, motion. “Captain!” he greets. “How long has it been, eh? One hundred years? Two hundred? Looked in a mirror lately?” He’s chuckling at some inside joke.

              Amy and Rory stare at each other.

              “Really? Only five years?” The Doctor makes a surprised noise in his throat. “Well, timestreams,” he says dismissively. “So hard to tack down. Anywho, how are you?”

              There’s a long moment of silence as Jack Harkness speaks on the other end. Amy and Rory can’t hear what he’s saying but the Doctor listens intently until, all of a sudden, he jumps away from the console. “What! No!”

              His companions flinch at the shout. The Doctor’s face is hard now. Hard and pale.

              Jack Harkness is talking again, quickly. Amy can’t make out his words but he doesn’t sound distressed at all. In fact, if she isn’t mistaken, it sounds like he’s laughing. Slowly, the Doctor’s face relaxes, but his body is still stiff.

              “Jack,” he says quietly. “Just tell me she’s all right.” He’s carding a hand through his hair. Then, he visibly deflates. “Oh…” The Doctor sighs in relief. “Good, good—what?”

              Amy doesn’t realize how hard she’s gripping Rory’s hand. She doesn’t know what’s happening in that phone call, but the Doctor’s eyes grow wide and falls back against the console. His free hand passes over his mouth and, for a split-second, his eyes meet hers.

              “How much does she remember?” he asks the mysterious captain.

              A beat.

              “All right. Yeah, of course, I…I’ll be there…” The Doctor shuts the phone. For the briefest of moments, he stands there in shock.

              “Doctor?” Amy ventures, moving closer. “Is everything all right?”

              “I don’t know yet,” the Doctor says, spinning around the face the TARDIS controls. He’s yanking levers again, pressing different buttons, snapping different switches.

              The TARDIS gives a vicious jolt that almost sends them all spilling to the floor. “Where are we going?” Rory yells over the cranking, churching noise of the time column.

              “Chiswick!” the Doctor yells back.

 

* * *

 

The TARDIS puts down in an alleyway across from a row of houses. Red brick, white trim, very quaint. Standing outside one of the front doors is a man in a long, dark coat. When the Doctor strides around the corner, the man doesn’t appear to recognize him straight away but the Doctor makes a beeline for him.

              Amy and Rory follow close behind, nearly jogging to keep up with the Doctor’s urgent pace. Finally, the man in the coat sees them and recognition lights his face.

              “Doctor!” he greets and it’s the same voice as on the mobile. This must be Captain Jack Harkness then and _whoo!_ He’s a bit of a looker.

              Captain Jack throws his arms open for a hug. The Doctor accepts it but only a brief, one-armed thing. He’s glancing behind the captain at the house behind them. “You’ve regenerated,” Jack says, his eyes skirting to Amy and Rory. He grins at the both of them and offers a quick wink. “Bowtie?”

              Amy chuckles.

              “Why does everybody have a problem with the bowtie?” the Doctor asks as the captain releases him. He straightens his tie. “They’re cool.”

              “Well, on you, they work.” Captain Jack winks at the Doctor and is it just Amy or is Jack flirting with the Doctor? “And you must be Amy Pond,” Jack says, sticking out his hand to her. “We spoke on the phone. Captain Jack Harkness.”

              “Stop that,” the Doctor says flatly.

              “Uh, nice to meet you,” Amy says.

              “I was only saying hello. And who are _you_?” the captain asks, holding his hand to Rory next.

              “Stop that!” the Doctor repeats. He seems very used to this.

              “Um…” Rory looks questioningly at Amy while he shakes Jack’s hand. “Rory. Williams.”

              “My husband,” Amy supplies.

              “Well, it is very nice to meet the both of you.” He shakes Rory’s hand and turns back to the Doctor. Despite his over-the-top flirtations, Amy can’t help but kind of like the guy. He’s charming in a Pepe le Pew kind of a way.

              The Doctor is facing the house, wringing his hands. “Is Donna’s family in there too? Her mum? Wilf?”

              Jack nods solemnly. “All three of them. Waiting for you. Donna’s husband too.”

              The Doctor visibly swallows. Jack places a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think there’s anything to be nervous about, Doc. She remembers everything.”

              “Yes,” the Doctor says quietly, heading for the door. “That’s why I’m nervous.” He goes inside.

Amy stays back a ways, lets Jack and the Doctor go way ahead. She holds Rory’s arm as they trail into the creamy-toned house with its cozy, grandmotherly feel. She feels like she’s walking in on something private, on some piece of the Doctor’s past.

It’s arrogant, she knows, but it’s almost weird for her to think that there _was_ a time before her and the Doctor. Like he materialized into the universe solely for her and Rory. But her imaginary friend hasn’t always been hers, apparently. In one hour, there’s been Captain Jack, Rose Tyler, this Donna person.

He’s eleven-hundred years old. Why is it surprising?

“Are you okay?” Rory whispers in her ear.

“Yeah, of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” she says quickly.

“All right…”

 

* * *

 

The Doctor has never been a follower. He’s always been the _push-ahead_ , _look around, find it yourself_ type, but today, he follows Captain Jack. He’s imagined this. Not often, he doesn’t often let himself fantasize about the impossible. Life would hurt too much if he did. But this, he’s imagined. More than once.

              After all, the universe is huge and ridiculous and miracles can happen.

              This must be the Doctor’s miracle.

              Donna remembered. Everything. Everything little, single, solitary thing. And she’s alive. She’s so very alive.

              He rounds the corner after Jack and as soon as his wingtips hit carpet, his body stops like it’s been paused with a universal remote.

              Donna is there, on the sofa. Wilf on the one side, clutching her arm, and her husband – Shaun - on the other. Her mother is haunting the doorway to the kitchen and, for once in her life, she doesn’t look hateful, just nervous.

              Donna stands up the moment she sees him. And behind her, Wilf rises too, slower because of his age, but his huge, bright eyes are just as mesmerizing.

              They all look at each other in silence for an eternity until, slowly, the ice thaws in the Doctor’s veins. He offers a small smile, shifts his feet, and says, “Hello.”

              Other than the wide-eyed shock (probably because his entire body has changed,) Donna looks incredible. It’s been two-hundred years since he last saw her, but for her, it’s been only five. And time hasn’t laid a finger on her.

              Well, except for the growing belly under her maternity blouse. Go, Donna.

              “Doctor?” It’s Wilf, sounding a little breathless with surprise. “But…but you look so different.”

              The Doctor smiles a little. “Time Lord physiology,” he says. “I change my face every so often. Have to.” It’s all he feels like explaining. There’s a bubble of something rising up in his chest. Something hot and electric that grows warmer when he realizes – they have time. He has all the time he needs to explain it.

              “Regeneration,” Donna says. It’s the first thing she’s said. Her eyes haven’t left the Doctor’s new face. “I remember. Rose Tyler talked about it before, on the TARDIS.”

              The Doctor nods carefully. “Jack says you remember everything?”

              Donna nods. “Everything,” she says. “Except…why you left me.”

              Oh.

              Oh, Donna.

              “I wasn’t sure it would be safe to tell her,” Wilf says. “She already remembered so much, I wasn’t sure if telling her more would be dangerous…”

              The Doctor smiles at Wilf. Good old Wilf. “You did the right thing, Wilf,” he says. Then, back to Donna, “Your mind has already remembered everything it’s ready to remember. Telling you any more could…dangerous, Donna. I’m sorry.”

              She’s nodding at the floor, or her pregnant belly. The air is so thick with tension, it’s like everyone else in the room is holding their breath. Even Amy and Rory, who have no idea what’s going on. “Just tell me one thing, Doctor. Did you leave me because you had to, like Rose Tyler, or because…you wanted to?”

              The pain in her voice hurts the Doctor’s hearts.

It’s the pain Sarah Jane gave him when she saw him again. A vulnerable, abandoned voice that says _why, Doctor? Wasn’t I good enough?_

“Oh, Donna,” the Doctor says, finally closing the distance between them. He doesn’t even care anymore if it’s tense or awkward. He wraps her in his arms, and settles his chin on top of her head, and whispers, “Oh, Donna Noble…it took everything I had in me to leave you.” In another life, he might have been too aware of their strict relationship to pepper kisses into her hair, but now he doesn’t care. And apparently, neither does she.

She wraps her arms around him too, buries her damp face in his shoulder and squeezes as hard as she can with that belly between them. That little Noble growing in there.

Suddenly, Wilf rushes in too and the Doctor and Donna laugh in surprise and adjust their arms to crush him into the hug as well.

 

* * *

 

Later, they’re sitting together on the sofa, the three of them. And the Doctor is scanning Donna’s head with his sonic and a slew of other devices he had Rory fetch for him out of the TARDIS. Amy is cross-legged on the chair across from them, watching silently.

              “So, it’s something to do with my head?” Donna says with her arms folded.

              “Don’t try to remember,” the Doctor advises, roving the sonic to her forehead before squinting at the screen.

              “Well, that’s not easy to do with you _bleeping_ me!” She stretches with one hand on her belly. “Besides, this sofa kills my back.”

              “Oh, Donna,” Wilf says, almost scoldingly.

              The Doctor sighs wearily, snaps his sonic down. “You really need to sit still,” he tells her. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to lock onto a human brain stem with a sonic _screwdriver_? It’s a screwdriver, not a medical device!”

              Donna huffs. “Oi, watch it!”

              The Doctor angrily gestures with the sonic. “I’m trying to!”

              “Okay, something tells me you two are picking up exactly where you left off,” Amy says. She’s grinning, which is nice. For a moment there, the Doctor thought he might have another “missus and the ex” situation on his hands. Which is even weirder, Amy being his mother-in-law and all.

              Donna’s huffy expression shifts to a little smirk at Amy and she says, “Yeah, we are.” The Doctor takes the opportunity to scan the rest of Donna’s head while she and Amy are chatting.

              “Are you having a boy or a girl?” Amy asks, sitting forward in her chair. Amelia Pond, so confident. So devoid of darkness and jealousy.

              Donna’s expression warms. “A girl,” she says.

The Doctor nudges her. “Another little Noble-woman running about the Earth! That’s brilliant!”

“Well, technically it’s Noble-Temple,” Donna says.

The Doctor screws up his mouth. “No, that’s rubbish. Just Noble.”

Donna gives Amy a look. “Are you naming my child?” she asks the ceiling.

“You think that’s bad?” Amy jumps in. “My husband took my last name because the Doctor liked it better than his.”

Donna barks a laugh just as the Doctor finishes up. “Did you lose all your mind when you regenerated?”

“Afraid so.” He peers at the screen, running the data. All normal. He can’t believe it.

Just then, Rory comes in looking rather dirty and exhausted. The Doctor snaps his head up. “And where have you been?”

Rory stares at him, mouth open. “I was in the TARDIS?” he says, as if the Doctor should have known that. At his blank look, Rory throws his hands up. In one of them is a scanner from the medbay. “You sent me to fetch this? From the TARDIS’s medbay? Took me a half an hour to find it because your organizational system is _atrocious…_ and you don’t even need it anymore, do you?”

“Nope!” The Doctor jumps to his feet, helping Donna up as well. “My work’s all done here and Donna Noble—” He hugs her again, excitedly, around her shoulders. “—My brilliant Donna Noble, you are in perfect condition. I don’t know how it happened, but the metacrisis DNA is completely gone. Vanished! Evaporated!”

He plants a wet smackeroo on her forehead and she makes a disgusted noise. “It’s official: you are in no danger whatsoever!”

Donna breaks out in a huge smile and bounces excitedly. “Mind you, I have no idea what was so dangerous, but I like the sound of ‘no danger whatsoever!”

The Doctor laughs. “So do I, Donna. So do I.”

 

* * *

 

The Doctor is up the hill with Wilf and Captain Jack, talking about something none of them felt comfortable discussing in front of the others, so Amy, Rory, and Donna are waiting by the TARDIS. Donna smiles when she sees it, goes right up and runs her hand on the blue paneling. “Well, aren’t you looking smart these days,” she says affectionately. “And you’re not wearing a bowtie, that’s a relief.”

Amy snickers and leans her head into Rory’s shoulder.

“Seriously, what’s with that?” Donna asks them over her shoulder.

“At least you missed the fez phase.”

“Not quite sure that phase is over yet, Rory…” Amy says tiredly.

Donna makes a horrified face. “A fez? He’s worn a fez? God, what a complete Martian.”

“So, is this what we do when the Doctor’s away? Make fun of his fashion sense?” They turn and he’s walking out of the house. Wilf must have stayed up the hill. Donna hopes he’s okay.

“Ponds, would you mind giving us a moment?” he says, coming to a stop in front of Donna.

“Course,” Amy says, tugging Rory along. They go inside the TARDIS and shut the door. Once they’re gone, the Doctor looks into Donna’s eyes and smiles.

“Donna Noble,” he says proudly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She smiles at him with one hand on her belly and the other on her hip. “May I?”

“Of course,” she says.

He kneels in front of her, placing a careful band above her navel. “Hello, in there, little Noble,” he says, his voice an octave higher than usual. Donna laughs and playfully shoves his shoulder but he continues speaking to the baby as if he was never interrupted. “It’s a big and amazing universe out there, little one, all for you. So long as you mind your old mum.” He laughs and Donna rolls her eyes. “Be a good girl for her,” he continues, softly, almost too softly for Donna to hear. “Because I know she’ll be the best mum in the universe for you, all right?”

Slowly he stands, just in time to see Donna wiping her eye.

“No, don’t do that,” he says quietly.

“Shut up, Spaceman. I’m hormonal, I’m allowed to cry.”

He smiles at her, squeezes her arm.

“I don’t even remember you leaving me,” Donna says. “It’s like, I remember you not being around because I remember being with Shaun, and Mum, and Grandad—but it also feels like I just saw you. Like I went traveling with you yesterday…”

The Doctor nods. “Well, the block in your mind that was holding back your memories of me is broken now. All the time in between is empty space that’s overlapping with your recent memories because it’s got nowhere else to go.

“That makes sense,” Donna says, wiping her eyes, but the tears won’t stop. “I sort of did remember, you know?” she admits, rubbing the wetness away constantly. “The whole time, I knew something was missing. Someone. I thought I’d never see you again…”

The Doctor’s hearts ache. It was the same for him, only worse. He knew what he was missing and it killed him. Not that Donna wants to hear that.

The Doctor hugs her again, softer this time, longer. They hang onto each other, eyes closed, two best friends who’ve been separated for two-hundred years. That’s another reason why Donna is hurting so badly, not that she knows it. It’s been five years for her, but two-hundred for him. Instinctively, in that clever mind of hers, she can feel the distance.

The Doctor pulls back, holding her at arm’s length so he can smile at her. “Travel with me,” he says. “We can pick up where we left off. The Doctor and Donna Noble, partners in crime! I was about to take Amy and Rory to visit Manhattan. You’ve never been to New York, have you? You’d love it, Donna. Very cool.”

Donna laughs and wipes the last of the tears from her eyes. “I’d love to Doctor, you know I would, it’s just…” She licks her lips, glances back at the house as she squeezes his hands. “I’m married now. With a baby on the way…” She’s shaking her head slowly and the Doctor sighs but keeps his smile. It’s not hard, actually.

“Donna Noble,” he says, squeezing her hands back. “The woman who turned me down twice.”

She laughs and pushes him.

“That’s all right,” he says. “Probably not the safest life for the little one, eh?” He smiles at her belly again.

“Besides, you’ve got Amy and Rory. And they seem like good ones.”

“Oh, they are.” He grins at the TARDIS. “My Ponds.” After a moment, the Doctor skirts around Donna and pushes open the TARDIS door. “Talk to Captain Jack. He’ll give you my number. I don’t want to go another two-hundred years without hearing from you, Donna.”

She salutes, just to irritate him. “Oh! And Doctor?”

He stops walking inside the TARDIS and looks back.

“I was thinking…” She’s rubbing her round belly with a sheepish grin on her face. “For my baby girl…I was thinking of naming her Rose…I mean, she did save all of us. I just wanted to see what you thought, since you’re apparently so fond of names.” She smiles nervously. “So, what do you think?”

This time, it’s his turn to blink away tears. “I think that’s lovely,” he says. “Rose Temple-Noble.”

Donna smirks. “Rose Temple-Noble,” she agrees. “See you around, Spaceman.”

He smiles. “See you around, Donna Noble.”


End file.
